Royals tie club record with nine straight wins

The Reading Royals continue to roll along, winning all three of their games last week to extend their winning streak to nine games, which ties the all-time club record. Reading leads the Atlantic Division with an overall record of 10-5-1 for 21 points.

Reading opened the week with a 2-1 overtime win against Elmira on Wednesday. Jesse Todd tied the game with his first professional goal midway through the second period and Ian O’Connor provided the game winner at 2:36 of the extra session. Philipp Grubauer recorded the win in goal with 27 saves.

On Friday, the Royals traveled to Cincinnati and skated away with a 4-2 win. Four different Royals found the back of the net, with Joel Champagne (1g-1a), Denny Urban (1g-1a) and Yannick Tifu (0g-2a) each contributing two points.

The Royals ended the week with a 7-2 win at Evansville on Sunday. With the score tied 2-2 after two periods, Reading erupted with five goals in the third period to go on to the victory. Evan Barlow led the way offensively with five points (1g-4a) while David Vallorani(2g-1a) and Urban (1g-2a) each had three-point nights.

The goaltending tandem of Grubauer and Brandon Anderson have been solid during the Royals’ run, allowing just 16 goals in the nine games, for a combined 1.78 goals-against average. Reading’s defense has been stout all year, ranking second in the ECHL with 25.06 shots-against per game. Grubauer ranks fifth in the league with a 2.08 goals-against average and is tied for fourth with seven wins.

Urban leads the Royals, and all ECHL defensemen, with six goals and 16 points. O’Connor has tallied a goal in four consecutive games, and is tied for second on the club with five goals on the season.

Reading looks to extend its winning streak with three home games this week, hosting South Carolina on Wednesday, Greenville on Friday and Evansville on Saturday.